Ashley M. Jones, at 31 Alabama's youngest-ever poet laureate, and the first Black woman to hold the honorary office, was fully aware of the irony during her celebration Wednesday, as she was feted in the Old House Chamber of the Capitol building, where a marble tablet commemorates the Civil War secession.
A wall plaque looms over a dais, reading "... the ordinance of Secession which withdrew Alabama from the Union of Sovereign States, was passed Jan. 11, 1861...."
Birmingham-born Jones, who teaches creative writing at the Alabama School of Fine Arts, spoke after receiving the commission from Gov. Kay Ivey: "Today it feels amazing and strange and exciting," she said.
